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GitLabApplication

CVE-2022-1406

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.6 / 14.9.4 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper input validation in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 8.12 prior to 14.8.6, all versions from 14.9.0 prior to 14.9.4, and 14.10.0 allows a Developer to read protected Group or Project CI/CD variables by importing a malicious project

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Improper input validation in GitLab CE/EE allows a Developer to bypass restrictions on protected CI/CD variables by importing a malicious project. Protected variables containing sensitive secrets (API keys, tokens, credentials) can be read by users with Developer permissions who should not have access to these protected values.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 14.8.6, 14.9.4, or 14.10.1 or later to patch the input validation vulnerability in the project import functionality.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
GitLabApplication
Affected:>= 8.12.0, < 14.8.6>= 14.9.0, < 14.9.4= 14.10.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check GitLab version
    Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin area at /admin/about to find the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is >= 8.12.0 and < 14.8.6, OR >= 14.9.0 and < 14.9.4, OR equals 14.10.0
  2. Verify project import is enabled
    Navigate to Admin Area > Settings > Visibility and access controls > look for 'Import sources' or check if project import functionality is available under Projects > New project > Import project
    Affected if Project import functionality is enabled and available to Developer users
  3. Identify protected CI/CD variables
    Go to a project's Settings > CI/CD > expand 'Protected variables' section, or use the API: `curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<id>/variables?filter[protected]=true"`
    Affected if Any protected CI/CD variables exist in any project containing sensitive values
  4. Review recent project imports by Developers
    Check Git logs for import events: `git log --all --pretty=format:'%h %ad %an %s' --date=short | grep -i import` or review audit logs in Admin Area > Monitoring > Audit Events filtering by event type 'project_import'
    Affected if Developer users have imported projects into the GitLab instance

You are affected if your GitLab version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND project import is enabled AND Developer users exist who may have imported projects containing protected CI/CD variables.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.8.6 / 14.9.4 or later
Fixed in 14.8.614.9.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 14.8.6, 14.9.4, or 14.10.1 or later to patch the input validation vulnerability in the project import functionality.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.8.6, 14.9.4, or 14.10.1 (or latest stable 16.x)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data and configuration
  2. 2. Plan maintenance window as upgrade may require downtime
  3. 3. For GitLab 14.8.x: Upgrade to version 14.8.6 or later (but before 14.9.0)
  4. 4. For GitLab 14.9.x: Upgrade to version 14.9.4 or later (but before 14.10.0)
  5. 5. For GitLab 14.10.0: Upgrade to version 14.10.1 or later
  6. 6. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest stable GitLab release (currently 16.x) to receive this fix and all subsequent security patches
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify that Developer role users can no longer access protected CI/CD variables through malicious project imports
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 14.x to 15.x or 16.x) may require database migrations and have upgrade prerequisites; review GitLab upgrade documentation for compatibility

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-1406 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data